GRE Argument Analysis Essay 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: An argument concludes that a new policy caused a rise in sales after being implemented. Which question best challenges this reasoning?
- Is the policy popular among staff?
- Could other factors have caused the sales increase? (Correct answer)
- Was the policy expensive to implement?
- Did competitors adopt similar policies?
Correct answer: Could other factors have caused the sales increase?
Challenging causation by identifying confounding variables is a core analytical skill for GRE Argument essays.
Question 2: If a GRE argument cites 'experts' without naming or qualifying them, you should:
- Accept the evidence as credible
- Question the reliability and specificity of the unidentified sources (Correct answer)
- Focus on other weaknesses only
- Assume the experts are qualified
Correct answer: Question the reliability and specificity of the unidentified sources
Vague appeals to unnamed authorities constitute weak evidence and should be flagged as an unverifiable appeal to authority.
Question 3: An argument states: 'Our city reduced crime after installing more streetlights; therefore, streetlights reduce crime.' This is best described as:
- Valid deductive reasoning
- A well-supported causal claim
- Confusing correlation with causation (Correct answer)
- An appeal to emotion
Correct answer: Confusing correlation with causation
The argument commits the post hoc fallacy by treating temporal sequence as proof of causation without ruling out other contributing factors.
Question 4: How many body paragraphs does a well-structured GRE Argument Analysis essay typically have?
- One
- Two to three (Correct answer)
- Five to six
- Seven or more
Correct answer: Two to three
Most high-scoring responses contain two to three focused body paragraphs, each addressing a distinct logical flaw.
Question 5: What does it mean to 'evaluate the evidence' in a GRE Argument Analysis essay?
- Provide your own data to support the argument
- Assess whether the cited data actually supports the argument's conclusion (Correct answer)
- Summarize the evidence presented in the passage
- Find additional sources that agree with the argument
Correct answer: Assess whether the cited data actually supports the argument's conclusion
Evaluating evidence means determining whether the data logically leads to the stated conclusion or whether a gap exists between them.
Question 6: An argument uses a survey of 50 employees to represent the views of 5,000 employees. Which flaw does this best illustrate?
- Circular reasoning
- Unrepresentative or insufficient sample (Correct answer)
- False cause
- Straw man
Correct answer: Unrepresentative or insufficient sample
Generalizing from a small or potentially unrepresentative sample is one of the most common logical flaws tested in GRE Argument prompts.
GRE Argument Analysis Essay 2
An argument concludes that a new policy caused a rise in sales after being implemented.
Which question best challenges this reasoning?